LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections

Straits Times

7 days ago

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Inspections of the BPLRT's power rail system, which spans 16km, are currently done manually up to three times a week.
SINGAPORE – The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has called for proposals to improve the way maintenance inspections are done for the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) system, specifically with regard to specialised tracks that deliver electrical power to the trains.
The authority hopes to more efficiently detect surface defects and misalignments of the BPLRT's power rails.
It is seeking new and tailored solutions that can do so with accuracy and in real time using camera-based visual systems and data analytics.
In its call for solutions on July 11, LTA said power rail defects and misalignments, which occur through wear and tear, can lead to unintended electrical discharges, or what are called 'flashover' events.
If serious, such flashover events can disrupt the LRT service as they can damage the power rail, running tracks and trains.
'It is not as common, but it's quite serious, so you don't want it to happen,' said Associate Professor Yap Fook Fah, co-director of the Transport Research Centre at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
He told The Straits Times that flashover events can generate so much heat that they can melt insulators, and even metal. This can also cause electrical current to leak.
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Today, inspections of the BPLRT's power rail system, which spans 16km, are done manually up to three times a week.
Maintenance staff carry out physical checks of different sectors of the 25-year-old LRT line, but they can do so only during overnight engineering hours.
Some of
the newer BPLRT trains are also equipped with systems that monitor the condition of the power rail by measuring vibration levels, LTA told ST on July 21 in response to queries.
The authority is in the midst of renewing the entire BPLRT fleet by 2026, phasing out the first-generation trains that have been operating for more than two decades and do not have such monitoring systems on board.
LTA said the proposed camera-based solution it is seeking will complement existing monitoring capabilities and inspection regimes.
'Even with new monitoring systems in place, physical inspections of the power rail system will still be carried out to assess the type of rectification works required,' said an LTA spokesman.
If the call for proposals is successful, LTA will consider implementing a similar solution for the Sengkang-Punggol LRT (SPLRT) system, too.
The BPLRT is run by SMRT, while the SPLRT is run by SBS Transit.
LTA said in its call for solutions that the development and trial of the proposed visual inspection system will be done in two phases, and must not take longer than a year.
The first phase is a proof-of-concept trial, limited to one LRT train during operational hours.
It will focus on determining whether the proposed solution can collect the necessary data and high-definition video footage in a safe, accurate and cost-effective manner, and whether the analytics can detect defects to certain specifications.
LTA said the proposed solution should be small enough to be installed on the undercarriage of BPLRT trains, or other parts of the train if it does not interfere with existing rail infrastructure.
Another requirement is that the solution cannot produce more than one false alarm per month.
If it passes, the proposed solution will then undergo an operational trial to test whether it can provide alerts in real time.
At this stage, the system will also need to have a digital dashboard that shows information about the detected defects, and allows staff to plan and monitor follow-up maintenance activities.
The delivery date for the project is set for Sept 11, 2026. Proposal submissions must be made by Sept 12.
In July 2025, the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit saw two major disruptions.
PHOTO: ST FILE
NTU's Prof Yap – who is also a member of the railway and transportation engineering technical committee at the Institution of Engineers, Singapore – said a camera-based condition monitoring system gives operators direct sight of the defects that need to be fixed.
Such a system can run at all times, and not be limited by engineering hours. It can also be mounted on different trains running on different parts of the line, so the rail operator can get an overview of the entire LRT system.
While the vibration sensors on newer BPLRT trains can pick up abnormalities, they are not perfect, Prof Yap said.
'It's like listening to your heartbeat. If your heart rate is a bit different, you want to see what is the underlying cause.'
SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai said the new condition monitoring system, once implemented, will facilitate more frequent inspections. It will also enable earlier detection and rectification of defects, enhancing overall reliability, he added.
Based on the latest available statistics, between October 2023 and September 2024, BPLRT's trains travelled 189,000km between delays of more than five minutes. This is down from 248,000km between delays in 2023.
In July 2025, the BPLRT saw two major disruptions.